Going into the sun without a hat, without Ray-bans....without a huge SPF (70?) .

You do realize how much proper Dermatological care in Los Angeles costs? Los Angeles/Beverly Hills Dermotologists don't take insurance. You pay cash....up front.

Potential Employers won't even look at you if you have so much as a single blemish, sunspot, demarcation, disfiguration, deformation , and such.

You are committing DERMATOLOGICAL SUICIDE by exposing fair, pale skin to the sun like that.

Yes, I know you want to fit in. But if you weren't born with melanin, then you weren't born with melanin....and destroying, your skin---trying to get that swarthy look of a Mexican..... won't change that.

Fake tans, or a gold-tinted moisturizer are best. Listen to what I'm saying---it's your face, not mine !!!!

No one who is more ashamed of this country's past with slavery than they are proud that this country fought a civil war to eliminate slavery is fit for public office. It's the sort of mindset that should be left to skulk around in back alleys and the minds of malcontents.

It's too late in SoCal. I know perfectly stable and confident women who, after a decade in this environment, chose to go with ridiculously unnatural implants.

And, ricpic, I can't tell if your dishonest retelling is the result of your conscious lies, or is this just your ignorant regurgitation of the conscious lies of right wing media. I saw that entire event, so I do know that your retelling is a lie, regardless of it's origin.

That you spread lies is now boring to me. But, at least for now, I am still slightly curious about where you fit in the lie food chain. Being manipulated by others is pitiful. But, being a manipulator is to be weak and lack integrity.

Sad, either way.

If folks want to be against reparations, it seems that such a position can be taken without making up lies about BHO's comments. Starting from a point of truth would actually help your cause. Basing an argument on a lie allows informed folks to completely discredit you, even if some of you points could be reasonable, or at least arguable.

Why aren't there George Bush Tshirts being sold? The market won't support them. I say the people who are selling Tshirts and filling the apparently desperate need for cheap outerwear are Grade-A entrepreneurial Americans!

He's waffling. Does that mean those greasy Belgians are going to get free waffles for life? That sucks. I want government waffles too. I love waffles. With strawberries and cream. Damn, I wish my great-great-great-great-grandfather was Belgian now.

"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds."

I've received about $34,000 from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The White Earth Land Settlement Act of 1985 was payment for land my grandmother was allotted and then lost by questionable methods. Obama is probably just trying to please the crowd, and like everything else, doesn't mean it. If not, this is going to cost a lot of money.

Well hello and good morning dear Althousian commentariat! It is a morning of sunshine and lustfulness at chez Humpington.

I find this man, this Barack Obama, a swarthy gentleman of questionable morals and skin color, but no matter, no matter, because he conjures the brooding image of a strong horse, a black stallion with firm, pulsing thighs and tight, bulging arms. I am taken back to my days of promiscuity, when men of such size and stature had their way with me, unbeknownst to my guardians ...who would've been outraged! A woman of my fair color shall never be seen with a man from the wild!

I am tempted, just like the fair Althouse, however, to place my ballot in his name, cum this November. And I will live with the secret shame of disavowing my fragile white brother, Mr. Obama's opponent. But no matter, no matter, because this is a matter of the heart, a matter of my passion, my yearning, my bosom's swelling...oh...oh...oh!

I trust the fair Christopher, akin to his mother, will be faced with a similar conundrum.

And what exactly has America done in the last 8 years that we're supposed to be proud of.

It enabled the slaughter of 400,000 brown people in Iraq and the creation of 2 million plus refugees. I guess that is kind of cool to some people.

It disenfranchised 15 million gay people by making them second class citizens by enshrining bigotry in state constitutions, forbidding them from serving their country, etc.

It put its head in the sand when it came to global warming, ignoring science in the name of ideology.

It's economy sucks, with the economy even smaller than the ailing Eurozone.

There are now about 20 countries that have more freedom than the U.S. including countries like South Africa.

Really. What is exactly is so special about America recently? And no, I'm not impressed with the fact that we abolished slavery about 50 years after most of the developed world at the time, followed up with 100 years of Jim Crow laws.

"You will embrace this rebellion. Support it, from our lands in the north. I will gain English favor by condemning it and ordering it opposed from our lands in the south. Whichever way the tide runs, we will rise."

I don't know about you Doyle but my family didn't own any slaves so I personally don't feel the need to pony up more of MY money to hand over to people who were never slaves and whose slave descendents have probably been dead for about 6generations.

Read other quotes from your first link. BHO is for better schools (including some things that upset the teachers unions.) And, if you saw the whole thing you'd know that he said if anything, poor whites need more help than well off black folks, when affirmative action was discussed. Really, folks should watch these events before they think they know what happened. This is just like those who "feel" certain that they know BHO is just like Wright, never mind that there is no evidence to support that assertion. These folks are shouting about their own thinking, but they don't even know it. Funny and sad.

Also, look at the basic logistical details of this event. Compare these with ricpic's story, you can see that he's obviously a misguided, ignorant regurgitater. He can't even get the simple facts right. Of course he doesn't know the full text of BHO's comments, he's not suppose to his right wing media leaders are keeping that a secret from him. This is how they put food on the table, or go golfing around the world on their private jets, as the case may be.

Reparations to me sounds very backwards looking. Look to the future for opportunity, not the past. Anticipate a need and fill it and you will make money.

It will not surprise me, however, if reparations occur. After all, the government paid money to those affected by the OKCity bombing and by 9/11. The government should just say in all those cases: "Sorry. Life's unfair."

Don't worry Hoosier Daddy. We are working on the Polish reparations. You are going to get a new bowling ball to put in the sink.

Hey, that's not funny. I take very good care of my bowling ball so much so I bowled a 245 last Saturday with my league.

I believe Polish reparations should include a life time supply of sausage casings, perogis and our own personal German or Russian slave that we can beat up from time to time.

Speaking of t-shirts, there was some guy down here at our Wednesday Farmer's Market selling Obama t-shirts just like the ones the Professor took pictures of. I bought one and told the guy I needed a new car washing rag.

Americans should be proud of a lot about their country, because America only has a duty to make a best effort, not to meet the standard of perfection you dreamed up and seem to want to judge us against.

Besides, if you want to dream up a higher standard than any of us claim is our duty, why stop at your paltry few.

Why not curse America because we haven't eliminated all global poverty under $40,000 per year by direct cash grants?

Why not hate America because we haven't stopped all murder and DWIs globally.

Why not hate Americans because we haven't subsidized the teaching of every child in the world how to play pool and speak Korean?

I mean, we may not have defeated Al Queada and killed Bin Laden, but no towers in NYC have gone down lately. That's not bad.

Maybe gas has only moved from $4.10 a gallon to $3.90 recently, but it isn't $11.00 as it is in the UK and most of Europe.

Economy may be growing only 0.8% a year, but it isn't as bad as Japans economy went from 4% annual growth between 1974-1990. Since then it has stalled three separate times: Zero growth in 92, a large contraction in 97, and again stalled in 2001.

Inflation to 5% a year? Actually, this really is our largest systemic problem, and it is likely to get worse because Greenspan flooded us with money for so many years. But it still isn’t as bad yet as it was during the Carter years (10% in 1979-80)

Job growth in December? Lately, we've been running in the 5% unemployment range while France has been running fully above 8% since 83 and France and Germany have been between 8 and 12% since 94, with a peak at 12% in 1997 (US was at 4% in 1997, a number widely considered “full employment” )

More freedom in South Africa? Perhaps. But the key to personal freedom there is not getting murdered. That is really the key.

Americans should be proud of the fact that we stopped the faggots from destroying civilization? Hey? Which group came up with the idea to radically shift and alter the many-thousand year foundation of society?

Being brainwashed by Fox News? Is that any worse than being brainwashed by DailyKos or your liberal professor at any major academy in the US?

Global Warming? Until you can tell me what caused the ice ages, I'm not sure I believe you have a good handle on what is going on right now either.

So, I dunno, it just depends on how you WANT to look at it, I guess. I don’t think we’re doing so bad, really, compared to the rest of the world.

The word on the street where I have my box is that Al Sharpton is a stingy tipper at best and won't tip white boys like me at all. Something about redress for past wrongs. So I gave him a pass the last time he wanted his Reeboks shined. My buddy Rufus was none too pleased to get Al's business on the rebound, so to speak. Something about a brotha fronta ofays and a motha fronta brothas, if I recall.

I am picturing an actual cock at the keyboard blogging. Perhaps with a face painted on the head and the peepee hole being the mouth and with long feathered blonde hair-like Farah Fawcett in Charlie's Angels.

Even, my parents who were diehard bowlers said summer bowling was a faux pas-well they didn't use the word faux pas because they wouldn't know what that word means.

Or they didn't want to let everyone know they speak the same language as those cheese eating surrender monkey Frenchies.

Bowling is a winter sport, not a summer sport. Is it even really a sport?

Well its more of a sport than say, golf which was invented by some druken Scotsman who had to think of something to do on a Friday night when the rest of the sheep turned him down for a date.

Well you see Hooiser Daddy has to bowl all year round so he can explain the shirt. And the shoes.

Well I will admit the shirts do leave something to be desired but you have all those 20 somethings walking around in those fake bowling shoes thinking its stylish. What a bunch of morons but then again they're voting for Obama so no surprise.

My Grandfather was Welsh, so don't bet with me...wait...was that Welch or Welsh.

I have zero 'white guilt' since one side of my family (the Irish and Welsh) didn't arrive here until after the Civil War. And on my Grandmother's side Quakers who helped the slaves and supposidly related to Grant (7th cousin or some such thing) I believe this to be true because I can drink with the best of them :-)

Knox: What with all the sock puppets popping up around here recently, it definitely is getting hard to remember who-is-who, particularly if there's been even a minor alteration in name. Even if one had a scorecard, as someone suggested on another thread a while ago, it would probably prove useless ;-)

"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds." - Obama

Obama should be forced to be way more specific before November. There are some deeds I would support and some I definitely and strongly would not. Given Obama's intimate, long association with a reverend at a church that gave an award to Farrakhan, Obama should not force us to speculate on what he might mean by deeds, because then I have to think the worst ideas I've heard over the years from the reparations push are possibly what Obama means. If the deeds he wants to offer as president are being kept a secret until after the election, we have to assume it'll be stuff that would've harmed Obama in the election.